SOWING SEEDS 2019?

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by lowrider69, Jan 8, 2019.

  1. lowrider69

    lowrider69 Gardener

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    Hi guys last year I managed to buy a deal one around about 1000 tiny plug plants which was quite cheap at around £30-£40

    this year I wanted to try and sow my own seeds for my hanging baskets and a few other places (see photos) I made 7 of these and you be surprised how many plants went into them but they never really trailed far enough to hide all the bottles,

    holyhocks.jpg bottles.jpg

    I was just wanting advice on doing this as I seen some seeds on Ebay which is about 2000 seeds or more for around £10 as I could of used a few more plants.

    I still have the plug plant trays so I guess I could use them but now sure when to start or go about sowing so many seeds,

    will they need to be kept in doors or will a green house be ok?

    would like plants that trail so any links to seeds to use would also be helpful.
     
  2. Perki

    Perki Total Gardener

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    Hi lowrider, I buy most of my bedding plant seeds off ebay last lot I bought from nutscones but I buy from lots of other suppliers on ebay as well. For trailing plants Lobelia - bacopa - petunia - Diascia - verbena - Bidens . For upright plants try petunia - geranium ( pelargonium ) - verbena - lobelia -busy lizzie - marigolds and plenty of other. Fuchsia are worth buying and other plants which can be difficult to grow from seed like begonias . Dont forget about foliage plants like lysimachia nummularia ( trailing ) - coleus - trailing nepata and others.

    I grow quite a lot of bedding, I have two troughs on the front fence I put left over plants in like trailing petunais etc.

    The purple trailing petunia are off ebay ( nutscones ) called Purple velvet I've bought some more trailing petunias off them again called salmon shades.
    The silver/ lilac are off dobies called Tidal wave silver - that one plant grown for better / bigger than expected.
    DSC00022.JPG
    This is the red version of trailing petunia from dobies - tidal wave red velour . the seeds from dobies are expensive compared to ebay to I think these are worth £3 per pack.
    DSC00023 (5).JPG
    I hope this helps :)
     
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    • lowrider69

      lowrider69 Gardener

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      Thanks Perki that's some lovely plants there how long did it take to get that big? rather buying hundreds of plug plants mabey buying bigger plants might be the way to go as they look quite big, only thing is my coke bottles are not that big and don't hold much soil
       
    • Perki

      Perki Total Gardener

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      Not long I've got an older picture when I first put them in , I were doing a compost experiment which were better Lidl or westland the only problem were I forgot which compost I put in each trough :doh:.
      DSC00019 (2).JPG
      As you can see they are bigger than plug plants, 20th june to 6th august isn't long to say how big they are.

      I couldn't work out what size the coke bottles were, the dobies petunia are vigorous growers so if you did want some it would be one plant for a small coke bottle. The petunia's off ebay aren't quite as vigorous as dobies probably cause the dobies are F1 seeds.

      If you want to buy similar plants to silver / red petunias ( not seed ) you would have to look for Surfunias , tidal Wave petunia's are American it will be difficult to buy wave petunia plants cause the European market dominated by surfinias.

      It up to you if you want to grow from seed , I find it very rewarding but a lot of work /time is involved, I've already started some seeds off. If you were to go to a garden centre and buy large individual plant in 7cm+pots they are about £1 to £1.20 each . Plug plants are cheaper but you'll have to look after them until the time is right.
       
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      • lowrider69

        lowrider69 Gardener

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        No I,m going to have a go at seeds it sounds good fun and like you say very satisfying. it does say his purple velvet are F1 plants??

        oh yea there 2lt coke bottles

        Petunia - Purple Velvet - 20 Seeds | eBay
         
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        • Perki

          Perki Total Gardener

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          Yes they are my mistake, F1 seeds are genetically made to be the best for flowering etc.
           
        • lowrider69

          lowrider69 Gardener

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          I must say I do like them petunia I think I will give them a go this year and mix the colours.

          I have 42 x 2 litre bottles but the cut out part where the plants go is around 25cm so how many plants per bottle do you think I would need
           
        • Perki

          Perki Total Gardener

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          Personally I would put 2 in even though it is quite small space one plant would be fine as well, I use miracle gro fertiliser they are like little pellets mixed in with the compost, and feed once a week with tomato feed this should keep them health and flowering throughout summer to the first frost.

          These petunia's don't need deadheading either
           
        • lowrider69

          lowrider69 Gardener

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          2 it is then :)
          No deadheading sounds even better that's a pain having so many to do lol.

          how do you germinate your seeds Perki?

          getting all excited now lol.... I do love plants :)
           
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          • HarryS

            HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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            I used to grow Wave Petunias from seed , just stick to Surfinia plugs now . If you are starting to grow from seeds. It is a lot of fun and satisfaction . Just follow the instructions , lots of people don't. They need the warmth of a house and plenty light , so start indoors very late Feb or early March. Sowing early does not help . Only seeds I sow early are Chillies and Sweetpeas in late January. Good luck :blue thumb: Lots of help on here or on Google !
             
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            • CarolineL

              CarolineL Total Gardener

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              Hi @lowrider69 - although I am a sucker for growing loads of things from seed, like @HarryS I have stopped for petunias. The seed is very small and you can pay a lot for F1. So I prefer the experts to germinate them and buy their plugs! Saves on heating and the risk of damping off. For anything with bigger seed eg pansy, wallflower, then I germinate my own. But if you want to, go for it!
               
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              • lowrider69

                lowrider69 Gardener

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                Have messaged you Perki
                cheers for the advice guys going to give the seeds a go though see how I get on :)
                 
              • andrews

                andrews Super Gardener

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                For the last couple of years we have planted Lobelia Crystal Palace and the blue really stands out in the sun. We use it to fill in any space between taller plants in tubs. Lobelia would work well mixed with your petunias.
                 
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                • Perki

                  Perki Total Gardener

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                  Each pack of seeds will have instructions on sowing depth / temperature etc . General rule fine seeds are surface sown and others are covered with compost or vermiculite.

                  You will need a nice sunny windowsill ideally south facing in a warm room. Also you will require something to trap the humidity / moister like a propagator - cut in half bottle - clingfilm - plastic sandwich bag which will need a rubber band, when I first started I bought some trays with a plastic lid which can be bought from supermarket / internet etc for a couple of quid. Pots on a windowsill need turning around every day or every other day. If the seedling are getting leggy they are not getting enough light which is common at this time of the year and well into February. Might be different down Devon though

                  I like to use square 7cm pots for seed sowing, fill them with multi compost or potting compost ( its ideal to sieve the top layers if you have one ) and give them a light bang on a unit to settle the compost and remove trapped air and refill, otherwise they will sink down later. Now you are ready to sow some seeds.

                  To water the seeds don't water overhead with a watering can this can wash away the seeds, a mister can be used but its only going to wet the top layers . Instead fill a tray with water ( warm water if you wish ) and sit the pots in the tray, the compost will draw the water up and you will be able to visible see the compost damp on top, it takes about 30mins sometimes longer. I water this way all the time with seedling, and it has another advantage it encourages the roots to grow down to the water making a better root system. To know if the pots need watering lift them up and feel the weight , heavier the pot has plenty of moister and if it feeling a bit light give them a drink, you'll get the nack of it after a while. It very unlikely a pot will need watering until the seeds have germinated I tend to mist if this is the case . I only overhead water when they are big enough and have a nice big root system.

                  When the seeds have germinated you can remove the lid but I tend to leave it on until they get little bigger. When they are big enough they will require pricking out into individual pots it probably best asking if they are ready to prick out. After that just look after them and keep them happy until planting out.

                  Regarding sowing Petunia seeds most are like dust but majority of F1 seeds are pelleted purple velvet are , they are physically bigger and can be handled. They must be sown on the surface and give them gently tap so the seed has good contact with the compost. They require lots of light to germinate ( light germinates these seeds ) . I sow mine Mid February to March, I would advise not to sow all the seeds at once have a test run first.

                  This is the second time I've typed this out this one shorter though I pressed the wrong button then it vanished :doh:, I hope it helps and I haven't missed anything out :)
                   
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                    Last edited: Jan 9, 2019
                  • Upsydaisy

                    Upsydaisy Total Gardener

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                    I grow everything from seed and love the whole experience.You may get some failures....but thats life, success is even sweeter for them:dbgrtmb:
                    Have fun!:)
                     
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                      Last edited: Jan 9, 2019
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